Vessel training device

ABSTRACT

The present invention is concerned with a vessel training device which comprises a sleeve adapted to be reversibly mounted and self retaining about the hull of a rowing boat or the like, and carrying one or more floats via a boom mounted to the sleeve.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

This invention relates to a vessel training device, in particular but not exclusively for use with a performance rowing vessel which, at least for many beginners, is an unstable vessel which makes learning to control such a vessel a difficult, often frustrating and time consuming activity.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Modern performance rowing boats are designed to allowed the rower to achieve significant speeds, but require the accurate execution of complex rowing techniques in order to attain such velocities and maintain stability of the vessel, which due to it's performance requirements are inherently unstable, in particular during movement of the rower during the rowing strokes. A modern rowing boat will normally include, for each rower, a seat mounted on wheels that run on a pair of tracks such that the seat can slide up and down within the vessel. The vessel also includes a foot plate for each rower, which allows the rower to use the muscles of the legs and trunk to drive themselves, on the wheeled seat, rearwardly in order to generate propulsive force while rowing. At the end of this stroke the rower must draw the wheeled seat back towards the foot plate in order to begin the process again. This constant oscillating motion of the rower within the boat results in instability, and as stated above, requires much practice to perfect. In addition, in order to attain the high speeds required of such vessels, the contact area between the hull and water is relative small, with the hull being elongated in length and relatively narrow in width which leads to further instability of the vessel during use.

It will therefore be appreciated that for a beginner this technique is extremely difficult to learn, and the difficulty is compounded by the inherent instability of the modern performance rowing vessel.

Balancing aids have therefore been developed in order to assist a beginner in learning the correct technique without falling out of or capsizing the vessel. These balancing aids generally take the form of one or more outrigger floats which are essentially permanently secured to the outrigger of the vessel via a frame or the like, the outrigger itself being bolted or otherwise secured to the hull of the vessel in suitable fashion. Fitting such balancing aids will often require drilling or otherwise modifying the rigger of the vessel in order to allow the frame to be secured thereto. In addition, if it is desired to remove the balancing aids, for example when the student has become proficient at the rowing technique, the process can be time consuming.

The present invention has therefore been developed to overcome the above mentioned problems.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

According to the present invention there is provided a vessel training device comprising a sleeve mountable about a hull of a vessel.

Preferably, the sleeve is reversibly mountable about a hull of a vessel.

Preferably, the sleeve is adapted to be self retaining about a hull of a vessel

Preferably, the sleeve is at least partially comprised of a resiliently deformable material.

Preferably, the training device comprises at least one float securable to the sleeve.

Preferably, the training device comprises a substantially rigid upper section adapted to overly an upper portion of a hull, and a resiliently deformable lower section adapted to overly a lower portion of a hull.

Preferably, the upper and lower sections of the sleeve are reversibly securable to one another.

Preferably, the lower section of the sleeve is dimensioned for a stretch fit around a lower portion of a hull.

Preferably, the training device comprises a boom connected between the sleeve and the at least one float.

Preferably, the training device comprises a pair of floats, a float being mounted on each free end of the boom.

Preferably, the training device comprises at least one flow regulator mounted to or formed integrally with the sleeve and adapted to alter the hydrodynamics of a vessel.

Preferably, the flow regulator comprises one or more projections and/or raised portions on the sleeve.

Preferably, the flow regulator comprises a fin adapted to generate drag during movement through water.

Preferably, the flow regulator is asymmetric in shape such as to be adapted to alter the hydrodynamic effect generated depending on the orientation in which the flow regulator is mounted on a vessel.

Preferably, the flow regulator comprises texturing or other surface finish on at least a portion of the sleeve.

Preferably, the training device comprises a velocity profile indicator.

Preferably, the velocity profile indicator comprises at least one tube having first and second ends and positioned such that in use the first end is submerged and faces the direction of travel of a vessel to which the training device is mounted, while the second end is positioned to be out of the water during use.

Preferably, the second end is positioned such that during forward movement of a vessel a spout or jet of water issues from the second end at a location visible to a user of a vessel.

Preferably, a leading edge and/or a trailing edge of the sleeve are tapered to reduce drag and/or turbulence generated by the sleeve while moving through water.

As used herein, the term “vessel” is intended to mean a boat such as a single or double scull/skiff or racing pair boat, in addition to the likes of surf boards and wind surfing boards, wake boards, kite surfing boards, canoes, etc.

As used herein, the term “self retaining” is intended to mean that the object in question, in this case a sleeve, is adapted to be secured to another object, in this case a hull of a vessel, without requiring additional fixtures or fittings, and without requiring any preparation or modification of the vessel hull.

As used herein, the term “stretch fit” is intended to mean that the material in question is elastic and can be stretched to fit around, for example, a hull of a vessel, in particular a lower side or underside of the vessel, and due to this elasticity the material will conform to the shape of the hull and the material, in use, will be under tension and so capable of clinging to or being self retaining on the hull.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 illustrates a plan view of a training device according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 2 illustrates a front elevation of the training device illustrated in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 illustrates a perspective view of a flexible portion of a sleeve forming part of the training device of the present invention;

FIG. 4 illustrates a plan view of the portion of the sleeve illustrated in FIG. 3;

FIG. 5 illustrates an end elevation of the sleeve portion of FIGS. 3 and 4;

FIG. 6 illustrates a side elevation of the sleeve portion of the training device;

FIG. 7 illustrates a close up view of a part of the sleeve portion as seen in FIG. 6; and

FIG. 8 illustrates an end elevation of the part of the sleeve portion shown in FIG. 7.

FIG. 9 illustrates a front elevation of a hull of a vessel having the training device of the invention mounted thereto.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Referring now to the accompanying drawings there is illustrated a vessel training device, generally indicated as 10, which is adapted to be fitted to a vessel V (shown in FIG. 9) such as a rowing boat, canoe, surf board or the like, in order to aid in balancing the vessel and/or to alter the hydrodynamics of the vessel such as to provide a training aid for both beginners and experienced rowers or the like. The shape and dimensions of the training device 10 described and shown are selected for use with a single or double racing rowing boat although it will be appreciated that the dimensions and/or shape/configuration of the training device 10 may be altered as required to suit other vessels, for example surfboards, canoes, or the like, while maintaining the functionality described hereinafter.

The device 10 comprises a pair of floats 12, one mounted on either free end of a boom 14, such as to resemble the design of a catamaran. The floats 12 may be of any suitable size and/or shape, and are preferably formed as hollow units from plastic, fibreglass or the like in order to remain relatively light weight. However the weight of the floats could be increased to give further stability, for example by adding ballast thereto, thereby increasing the combined weight of the vessel and training device 10 for the purposes of resistance training. In the embodiment illustrated the floats 12 are of narrow elongate design in order to minimise drag in the water, as the device 10 of the current embodiment is intended for use with racing rowing vessels. The floats 12 are also preferably releasably secured to the boom 14 in order to both allow disassembly of the device 10 for storage and/or transport, and to allow the floats 12 to be removed for repair or replacement with an alternative design of float. It will also be appreciated that the device 10 could be provided with only a single float 12, to be located on one or other side of the vessel. The boom 14 would of course need to be redesigned accordingly.

In order to allow the floats 12 to be secured to a vessel the boom 14 is connected, via an upright 16, to a sleeve 18 which enables, as will be described in detail hereinafter, the device 10 to be removably or reversibly mounted to a vessel without requiring any modifications or the like to be made to the hull of the vessel, for example drilling, gluing or the like. The sleeve 18 is shaped and dimensioned to circumscribe the hull of the vessel V, and preferably be self retaining, for example by having a stretch fit around the vessel V, preferably through the use of resiliently deformable material for at least a portion of the sleeve 18, as will be described in greater detail below. Thus the device 10 can be quickly and easily fitted to and removed from any vessel, or swapped between vessels, without requiring any preparatory work to be carried out on the hull or other portions of the vessel.

The sleeve 18 comprises an upper portion 20 which is fixed to the upright 16, and in the present embodiment is plate like in form and preferably substantially rigid, although the upper portion 20 may be of any other size, and may be designed with some flexibility in order to more closely conform to the hull if desired. In use this upper portion 20 sits directly onto the exterior of the top side of the vessel's hull and provides a mounting/support site for the boom 14 and in turn the pair of floats 12. The sleeve 18 further comprises a lower portion 22 illustrated in FIGS. 3 to 8 (not shown in FIG. 1 or 2), which lower portion 22 is formed from a flexible/resiliently deformable material such as rubber or the like, and which in use extends around the underside of the hull and is releasably secured to a pair of lateral edges 24 of the upper portion 20 by any suitable means, for example hook and loop type fasteners B or any other suitable alternative such as clips or the like. While less preferred, it is also envisaged that the upper portion 20 and lower portion 22 of the sleeve 18 could be permanently secured to one another, although this would reduce the compatibility of the device 10 and limit the possibilities for modification or additions to the device 10, as described in greater detail hereinafter.

The lower portion 22 is preferably dimensioned such that it must be stretched slightly to fit around the underside of the hull, thereby introducing tension into the lower portion 22 once fixed in place around the underside of the hull and to the upper portion 20. This will result in the sleeve 18 being self retaining via the lower portion 22 griping the underside of the hull as it attempts to return to its original size, thereby securing the training device 10 in position on the vessel. The upper portion 20 and lower portion 22 thus together define a closed sleeve 18 which circumscribes the hull of the vessel, the lower portion 22 of the sleeve conforming to and gripping the hull directly, thus avoiding the requirement for additional fixings such as bolts or the like. In order to release the device 10 from the vessel it is simply a matter of disconnecting one or both sides of the lower portion 22 from the upper portion 20 by undoing the fasteners B. It will also be appreciated that it is a simple matter of providing the lower portion 22 in the correct size to fit various vessels, and indeed one size of lower portion 22 may allow the device 10 to be fitted to numerous different styles/sizes of vessel or hull, due to the elasticity of the lower portion 22 which can thus be stretched to fit different size/shape hulls. In the event that the upper and lower portions 20, 22 of the sleeve 18 are permanently fixed to one another, then the process of both removing and install the sleeve 18 to the vessel V involves simply pulling the sleeve onto or off the hull of the vessel V.

In addition to allowing retention of the device 10 on a vessel, the flexible nature of the lower portion 22 of the sleeve 18 has additional advantages. By stretching the lower portion 22 to fit around the hull, once fixed in position the lower portion 22 will closely conform to the curved shape of the hull, thereby minimising the drag created by the lower portion 22 when the vessel is moving in the water, while also ensure that the sleeve 18, in particular the lower portion 22, is capable of conforming to almost any hull shape. To further reduce the drag generated by the lower portion 22, a leading edge 26 and a trailing edge 28 of the lower portion 22 may be tapered in order to provide a smooth transition between the hull of the vessel and the lower portion 22.

The sleeve 18 may also be used to intentionally alter the hydrodynamics of the vessel, in particular to increase the drag generated on the hull, in order to allow the sleeve 18 to be used as a resistance-training tool, in order to increase the rower's strength during training. To this end the sleeve 18 may comprise a flow regulator in the form of one or more protrusions 30, and in the present embodiment the protrusion 30 is in the form of a centrally positioned fin 30 extending, in use, vertically downward from the lower portion 22. The fin 30 is provided with an array of pockets or scoops 31 formed on each lateral face thereof, which scoops 31 are open at an, in use, upstream end and closed or restricted at a downstream end. As the fin 30 projects downwardly into the flow of water passing the hull, the array of scoops 31 face into the flow of water and thereby increase the drag generated by the hull, thus requiring increased force and therefore increased workload from the rower in order to provide increased strength in training. The fin 30 may be removably mountable to the lower portion 22, although equally it may be provided permanently formed with the lower portion 22. In this case the device 10 may be provided with a number of alternative lower portions 22, one with the fin 30 provided thereon, and one without. The fin 30 is also preferably mounted to the lower portion 22 in a manner which allows the fin 30 to be mounted in a forward or rearwardly facing direction, such that the scoops 31 are positioned with either the open or the closed ends facing into the direction of the oncoming water. In this way the fin 30 can be used to generate resistance to forward motion by having the open end of each scoop 31 facing into the oncoming water, or to minimise drag by facing the closed end of each scoop 31 into the oncoming water allowing the fin 30 to act purely as a stabiliser. It will therefore be appreciated that the device 10 could simply comprise the sleeve 18 to be used as a resistance training aid without using the floats 12.

Similar functionality may be achieved by texturing or otherwise altering the surface finish on the outwardly facing surface of the fin 30 and/or lower portion 22. For example the surface of the fin 30 and/or lower portion 22 could be dimpled, rippled or otherwise patterned in order to increase the drag generated thereby. The lower portion 22 could be designed to be reversible, such that one side provides a smooth finish to minimise drag, and by flipping over the lower portion 22 the now exposed surface is rippled, dimpled or otherwise textured to provide drag and therefore allow resistance training.

The training device 10 is also preferably provided with a velocity profile indicator in the form of one or more tubes 32 mounted to or formed integrally with the lower portion 22. In the embodiment illustrated the pair of tubes 32 each have a first end 34 which are preferably situated flush with the leading edge 26 of the upper portion 20, and a second end 36 which terminates at or adjacent a respective lateral edge of the lower portion 22. Thus when the lower portion 22 is fixed in place about the hull of a vessel, the second end 36 will be located adjacent the lateral edges 24 of the upper portion 20. As the vessel is driven forward through the water by the efforts of the rower, water will be forced through the tubes 32 via the first end 34 and will exit via the second end 36 in the form of a spout or jet of water which will be visible to the rower due to the positioning of the second ends 36. If the spout or jet of water is intermittent it is an indication that the rower is not moving efficiently within the vessel and on the sliding seat, whereas if the spout or jet of water is near constant the rower is moving well in the boat. The rower can therefore work on their technique in order to achieve the correct spout of water.

As mentioned above, the training device 10 may be used on vessels other than rowing boats, for example a wind surfing board, a surfing board, a kite surfing board or a canoe. It will of course be appreciated that minor modifications and/or additions may be made to the training device 10 in order to better suit the intended application of same. For example, where the training device 10 is to be used with a wind surfing board (not shown), the floats 12 can be flattened to allow for greater momentum and speed in the water, while also being turned up at front (bow) to encourage “riding up onto the water and planing”. The boom 14 may also be of a flat form to allow for the user to stand about the area of the board without interruption or injury. If the training device 10 is to be modified for use with a surfboard (not shown), the floats 14 may be modified in size/shape in order to hug the sides of the surfboard towards the rear, and the boom 14 should be flat to allow the user to mount the surfboard uninterrupted.

When the device 10 is to be used with a kite surfingboard, the floats 12 are preferably flat to the point of being shaped as a wide water ski with buoyancy. The floats 12 may also include at least one under slung fin (not shown) to improve “hold” in the water. The boom 14 should pass across the centre of the board and may also be provided as a twin boom arrangement of flat form close to the board. Finally, if the device 10 is to be used with a canoe the floats 12 should preferably be positioned closer to the vessel to allow for easy movement and use of paddles (not shown). The boom 14 may be fitted to the front or the rear of the canoe, depending on the shape of a given craft.

The training device 10 of the present invention therefore provides a simply yet highly effective means of securing one or more floats 12 to a vessel without requiring any permanent alteration to the vessel. The training device 10 also provides a number of additional advantages such as allowing resistance training and providing an indication of the efficiency of the rower's technique. 

1. A vessel training device comprising a sleeve mountable about a hull of a vessel.
 2. A vessel training device according to claim 1 in which the sleeve is reversibly mountable about a hull of a vessel.
 3. A vessel training device according to claim 1 in which the sleeve is adapted to be self retaining about a hull of a vessel.
 4. A vessel training device according to claim 1 in which the sleeve is at least partially comprised of a resiliently deformable material.
 5. A vessel training device according to claim 1 comprising at least one float securable to the sleeve.
 6. A vessel training device according to claim 1 comprising a substantially rigid upper section adapted to overly an upper portion of a hull, and a resiliently deformable lower section adapted to overly a lower portion of a hull.
 7. A vessel training device according to claim 6 in which the upper and lower sections of the sleeve are reversibly securable to one another.
 8. A vessel training device according to claim 6 in which the lower section of the sleeve is dimensioned for a stretch fit around a lower portion of a hull.
 9. A vessel training device according to claim 5 comprising a boom connected between the sleeve and the at least one float.
 10. A vessel training device according to claim 9 comprising a pair of floats, a float being mounted on each free end of the boom.
 11. A vessel training device according to claim 1 comprising at least one flow regulator mounted to or formed integrally with the sleeve and adapted to alter the hydrodynamics of a vessel.
 12. A vessel training device according to claim 11 in which the flow regulator comprises one or more projections and/or raised portions on the sleeve.
 13. A vessel training device according to claim 11 in which the flow regulator comprises a fin adapted to generate drag during movement through water.
 14. A vessel training device according to claim 11 in which the flow regulator is asymmetric in shape such as to be adapted to alter the hydrodynamic effect generated depending on the orientation in which the flow regulator is mounted on a vessel.
 15. A vessel training device according to claim 11 in which the flow regulator comprises texturing or other surface finish on at least a portion of the sleeve.
 16. A vessel training device according to claim 1 comprising a velocity profile indicator.
 17. A vessel training device according to claim 15 in which the velocity profile indicator comprises at least one tube having first and second ends and positioned such that in use the first end is submerged and faces the direction of travel of a vessel to which the training device is mounted, while the second end is positioned to be out of the water during use.
 18. A vessel training device according to claim 17 in which the second end is positioned such that during forward movement of a vessel a spout or jet of water issues from the second end at a location visible to a user of a vessel.
 19. A vessel training device according to claim 1 in which a leading edge and/or a trailing edge of the sleeve are tapered to reduce drag and/or turbulence generated by the sleeve while moving through water. 